Psalm 42

While reading this chapter in the Bible, I saw me in it. I saw me in my past as well as me now. Am I trusting God as I should?

In the past chronic pain and long hours on my feet at work kept me from sleeping well or enjoying activities. I was working until 11pm or later five nights a week. I was in constant pain which I did not know how to manage. I subjected my body to injections and nerve burnings where I found some relief.

I had no social life, and it was hard to make it to church most Sundays. My emotional state was a mess, and I had no real friends. I did not feel wanted and often felt like everything I did was wrong.

I did not even feel safe at home because there was a registered sex offender/creepy guy who lived in an upstairs apartment who sometimes would look in my windows. My skin crawled every time I saw him. He also smoked outside the door and the fumes would come into my apartment. I have asthma and chronic bronchitis.

I felt stuck with no alternatives to my life.

 3Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying,

“Where is this God of yours?

4My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks

amid the sound of a great celebration! 5Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?

9“O God my rock,” I cry, “why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief,

oppressed by my enemies?” 10Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?”

Fast forward to today. When both my kids decided to move independently to Wausau, I thought it would be nice to move with them. I did not think it was possible, yet God found a way. He put me in a great apartment and my transfer went through okay. He also put me in a great church. But most of all God changed me. Slowly! Yet, I notice it every day.

My schedule at work is more daytime hours freeing me evenings to do stuff with friends from church and get involved. I also work four days a week, not five, leaving me three days in a row off from work. Some weeks I am so busy I do not have time to be lonely or feel unwanted.

I still have chronic pain, but I am managing it better. I still wear a brace on my left foot and walk with a cane often, yet it is less than before. I also am now wearing a brace for my back at work and increased the dosage of one of my medicines to help with the pain. Yet, the most help is having a physical therapist who worked with me over a period to make sure I was ready to be on my own with daily exercises to strengthen my back and knees. Chronic pain no longer rules my life!

My home life is better too. I feel safe here and have no worries about the people who live in the other apartments in my building. Smoking is not permitted near the building and the one who does smoke is considerate of my health whenever I must go near her when she is smoking. It is freeing not be afraid anymore.

Yet the change came within! I was spending more time studying the Bible and in prayer. Often a couple of hours in the morning with my coffee. I also have a clear signal for a local Christian radio station in my car. Having music on helps lift my soul and helps me cope with my problems. I also get to see some of my siblings more often since I am an hour closer to them than when I was in Rhinelander.

1As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. 2I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?

8But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.

Yet, I still worry about rising prices at the pump and in the grocery stores. I also worry about changes in management staff which could directly affect my schedule and peace of mind at work. But with my worries is the reminder I can trust God for my future.

I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!

Where is your trust?

Below are selections from Christianbook.com Home. I am affiliate of Christianbook. If you click on the link and make a purchase I may receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. Christianbook offers a wide selection on books, Bibles and gifts.

Deep Calling Deep: A Psalm of Faith – Psalm 42
By Carole Towriss / McPherson Publishing

As The Deer, Camp Mug
By Dexsa-the Giving Company

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• As the deer pants for streams of water so my soul longs for you O God. Psalm 42:1
• Grey

The book of Esther is a unique book because it does not mention God throughout the entire book.  Yet, we see God working throughout the story behind the scenes to save His people.  I have always been impressed with the quote “for such a time as this”.  In these troubling times God needs to raise up people who are in a special place to help many in need.  Are you one of those people?  I do not know if I am, but God has given me another story to write and this one is about Esther.

Passages from the New Living Translation (NLT) are written in italics.  The story is written as fiction, but it comes right from the Bible.

Esther’s Story

The king is having another banquet!  I am told it will last 180 days and only nobles, officials, and military leaders will attend.  I feel sorry for all the servants who must work extra hard.  But, oh the merchants are going to get rich supplying food and drink for the banquet.  We have been told there will be another banquet for common people after that for seven days.  This king sure does like to party!

The end of the 187 days has come to the end.  I heard Queen Vashti has denied King Xerxes his request to go visit him.  How dare she?  No one denies the king.  The king has consulted his wise men as to what to do about Queen Vashti.  Their response was amazing!  They said if nothing is done women all over the kingdom would despise their husbands and not obey them.  We cannot have that can we?  They recommended Queen Vashti be replaced. 

I have been told the king will appoint commissioners to seek out beautiful virgins for the king to choose a new queen.  The women are to be placed at the citadel of Susa under the care of Hegai the king’s eunuch.  There they would receive beauty treatments before being presented to the king.  I am one of these women. 

Let me stop here and tell you a little about myself.  I was orphaned at the age of eight and was raised by my older cousin Mordecai.  He taught me many things about our people and our history.  You see, I am a Jew and a foreigner in this country.  My parents and Mordecai were among the thousands of Jews captured and taken away from our homeland years ago.  Mordecai said never to tell anyone I was a Jew because many do not like us.  We are set apart to worship the one true God.  We do not bow down and pay honor to rulers and nobles like everyone else does. 

Now that I am at the citadel, I am receiving beauty treatments and baths every day.  We are all waiting our turn to meet with the king in hopes we please him, and he makes us his queen.  My cousin Mordecai comes to the courtyard often to make sure I am okay.  The eunuch Hegai likes me and treats me very well.  I am blessed to be in this position even though I do not see why I was chosen.  Everyone likes me though and thinks I am beautiful.

My turn to go and meet with the king.  I am a bit nervous and hope I will please the king.  I made sure I took what Hegai told me to ask for nothing and just go with nothing.  The king was nice, and we had a nice meal.  We talked about things and I was impressed how much knowledge he had. I was very careful not to talk about my heritage nor to boast about myself. 

Guess what?  The king liked me so much he made me his queen!  Me!  It is such an honor!  I still do not know why he choose me, but he did.  I am given a special part of citadel and to be ready for when the king sends for me.  He sends for me often.

One day, Mordecai was at the king’s gate and he overheard two men talking.  They were angry at the king and were plotting to kill the king.  Mordecai told me what had happened and told me the two guys names.  That night the king summoned me to spend the night with him and I told him all about it and who told me.  I was careful not to reveal why Mordecai told me specifically so the king would not find out I was a Jew.  The next day the king investigated the plot to kill him and found out it was true.  He had those two men hanged where everyone could see them. 

The king declared Haman the most noble in the kingdom.  Not sure why Haman should receive such honor.  I guess he may have been a descendent of a king of Amalek.  Anyways, Haman is a boastful man and is rude to anyone beneath him.  He is nice to me, but he must because the king would kill him if he isn’t.  Yet, everyone else he is rude to and makes them bow down to him.  No one really likes him, but he is a different person around the king. 

Mordecai will not honor Haman and that really upsets him.  Every time Haman goes by the gate to the king’s palace Mordecai just stands there while others are bowing to Haman.  I am glad I do not have to be around Haman much.

What?  I heard Mordecai was in sackcloth and pouring ashes on himself.  He will not come inside the gate, so I sent Hathach, the eunuch in charge of my care, to find out why.  Hathach came back and told me all Haman had done.  Here is the story.  Haman dislikes Mordecai so much he went to the king and asked if all the Jews could be put to death.  He did not tell the king what people he wanted dead but that they were different and did not pay honor to the nobles.  Haman also said he would put ten thousand pieces of silver into the treasury to make it happen.  The king gave Haman his signet ring to make it a law and it was published all over the kingdom.  Fortunately, the law stated a whole year must pass before the killing began.  Still Mordecai asked me to go to the king and beg for mercy for our people.

I told Hathach to tell Mordecai I have not been summoned to the king in thirty days and to go into the throne room without being summoned would mean death unless the king holds out his gold scepter to the person.  Mordecai answered

“Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

These words were not lost on me!  Maybe this is why I became queen?  I made a decision.  Tell Mordecai to gather all the Jews together who are in Susa and to fast three days for me.  I and my maids will also fast for three days.  When the three days are over, I will go to the king.  If I die, I die!

After three days I put on my best clothes and went to the throne room entrance.  I was shaking inside but I knew I must have courage and do this.  I was so relieved when the king saw me and immediately pointed his gold scepter towards me.  What do you want he asked telling me I could have up to half of his kingdom.  I told him I wanted Haman and him to come to dinner at my quarters tonight.  The king sent for Haman right away.  They came to dinner and enjoyed themselves.  The king asked again what I wanted.  I asked if the two of them would come to dinner tomorrow night and I would tell the king what I wanted.

I have been told Haman went home through the king’s gate where he saw Mordecai sitting.  This made him mad, but he did not do anything about it.  I am also told Haman went home and bragged about how he was just at my quarters eating dinner with me and the king.  Haman said to his wife how much he despised seeing Mordecai at the king’s gate.  His wife suggested to build a gallows 75 feet high and to go ask the king in the morning to hang Mordecai on it.  I heard Haman was happy and could not wait to ask the king.

A strange thing happened.  The king was having trouble getting to sleep that night.  I suggested he go read for awhile to see if that helped him sleep.  The king had the chronicles of his reign brought to him and he read about how Mordecai saved his life a few years back by reporting the two men who plotted to kill the king.  The king asked if Mordecai was honored for this and was told no, he was not.

The next morning Haman went to the king and the king asked Haman what should be done to honor someone.  Haman must have thought he was going to be honored so he said the king should give this person a set of the kings clothes and have them ride through the city on one of the kings personal horses so everyone will see them and honor him.

Then the king ordered Haman to do that for Mordecai.  I cannot even imagine what Haman was thinking.  Afterwards Haman went home.  I imagine he knew he was doomed.  As soon as he got home and told his wife what had happened the eunuchs arrived to take him to my banquet.  At the dinner the king asked me again to tell him what I wanted.  I answered

“If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request, I ask that my life and the lives of my people will be spared. 4For my people and I have been sold to those who would kill, slaughter, and annihilate us. If we had merely been sold as slaves, I could remain quiet, for that would be too trivial a matter to warrant disturbing the king.”

The king demanded who wanted to kill my people and I answered the vile Haman.  Suddenly, the king went out to the balcony.  I was just laying there on my couch and Haman came over and threw himself on me and begged me for his life.  At that moment the king came back into the room and saw Haman.  The king shouted, “Will he even assault the queen right here in the palace, before my very eyes?”  At once the guards came in and covered Haman’s head to signal Haman was doomed to die.  Then one of the king’s eunuch’s said Haman has a gallows 75 feet high to hang Mordecai on in his own yard.  The king told the guards to hang Haman on his own gallows.

I once again asked the king to put an end to the order Haman had sent out to have the Jews killed.  He said once a law is in place it cannot be rescinded.  So, I asked if instead if the Jews would be allowed to defend themselves against anyone who tried to kill them.  The king granted my request.

Lessons Learned from Esther

Esther must have been very smart and brave to do what she did.  Even though it does not come out and say it I am sure Esther spent much of the three days praying while she was fasting.  I believe she trusted God to keep her and her people safe.  The other night my church had aa special prayer service for Ukraine. My Pastor mentioned this story from the Bible. While Esther was one woman we can be like Esther in helping the Ukraine people. We can pray, donate to others who are helping the Ukraine people or if you are able go help them yourself. Who knows maybe God wants to use you for such a time as this.

My church has friends and missionaries we support and are in contact with at this time when possible. To find out what my church is doing click here https://bethanyschofield.org/

The following is affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

Exploring Esther: Serving The Unseen God
By Colin D. Jones / Dayone

The study of the providence of God is both exciting and profitable: it thrills our hearts as we see the wisdom and power of our Heavenly Father; it strengthens our resolve as we marvel at the sufficiency of his grace; and it brings comfort when we do not understand what is happening to us or around us. Esther is all about that marvellous providence. Studying it can deepen our trust, enrich our worship, and intensify our love for our great God. It will reassure us that though we may not always see him, he never looses sight of us. The history of Esther is one of the clearest examples of Paul’s great assertion in Romans 8:28: ‘We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.’

Thoughts of Ukraine

I Samuel 23:26-29 (NLT)

26Saul and David were now on opposite sides of a mountain. Just as Saul and his men began to close in on David and his men, 27an urgent message reached Saul that the Philistines were raiding Israel again. 28So Saul quit chasing David and returned to fight the Philistines. Ever since that time, the place where David was camped has been called the Rock of Escape. 29David then went to live in the strongholds of En-gedi.

I guess I should first explain what is happening in these verses before going into why they are important about the Rock of Escape. Saul was the first king of Israel but after awhile he quit following the Lord and became ineffective as king. At that time the Lord told Samuel, who was a wise judge in Israel, to anoint David as the next king. David was just a young man, perhaps even a teenager when this happened. A few years later Saul became depressed and angry and decided to put all his efforts into killing David. 13So David and his men—about 600 of them now—left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn’t go to Keilah after all. 14David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him. God was with David even though I am sure there were times when David was afraid. Many of the Psalms talk about David being pursued by his enemies and how God is David’s Rock.

This is the only place where I have found the term “Rock of Escape”. Other translations of the Bible call it Sela Hammahlekoth or the rock of parting. Yet, in these times of war I feel the Rock of Escape is more appropriate. But why is it important? The Rock of Escape to me is Christ Jesus. We can escape to Him with all our troubles. He will help us escape our enemies, our worries, and He is our escape to comfort us and make us feel loved.

Most of us reading this live in the USA where we are at peace. We have safe homes with food and water. We take for granted having lights on when it is dark and electricity to charge our devices. Most of us can get into our cars and drive to any where we want, even if it is to work. We complain about gas prices and the costs of goods and services going up. Yet the people of Ukraine do not have any of these things. Today at church one of the men of the church is friends with a guy in a church in the Ukraine and he said earlier in the week the city he was living in had neither running water or electricity. Today we learned electricity was restored but the still had no water. They were melting snow for water to drink and cook.

Tonight, my church had a special prayer meeting for the people of Ukraine. I could not help but to think of how God caused the Philistine army to attack just at the time Saul was about to capture David to distract Saul. David escaped being killed by Saul. As we prayed for a miracle for Ukraine I wonder if God has something to distract the Russian army away from Ukraine and no more harm will come to them. It is my prayer the Lord will end this soon. It is also my prayer I will no longer take my American blessing for granted.

Jesus, the Rock of Escape is there for us as well as I am sure He is there in Ukraine. He is our rock of escape for our worries. In one way you can think of the Rock of Escape, Jesus, as a vacation. How many ads to exotic places say escape to our island…? Well, Jesus our Rock of Escape can be that momentary vacation in our lives if we give our worries to Him and gain His peace in our lives. It does not have to be momentary either it could be day by day. He loves us and is there for us. He is our Rock of Escape!

I Samuel 16 and 17

Ephesians 6:14-17

We have all heard the story of David and Goliath as we were children. We were thrilled to sit and listen to the story as David picks up a stone, puts it in his sling and hurls it at the mean giant Goliath. We wondered how a small stone could kill a giant like Goliath. Perhaps it was because David had better armor than Goliath? Wait a minute! You are probably thinking there is no mention of David wearing armor when he went into battle with Goliath. But David was, it just was not visible. David had on the armor of God spoke of in Ephesians chapter six. This post will consist of three sections of armor. Goliath’s armor, Saul’s armor and David’s armor, the armor of God.

Goliath’s Armor

Goliath was a giant even for these times. He stood nine feet tall. He probably was not skinny either as his armor weighed 150 pounds. He had a bronze helmet. His coat of mail weighed 125 pounds alone. He wore bronze leg armor. He also carried a javelin on his shoulder with a spearhead weighing fifteen pounds itself. He also carried a sword because after he fell, face down I might add, David ran over to him pulled out Goliath’s sword, made sure he was dead by stabbing him and cut off his head. Goliath also had a shield. It was carried by an armor bearer in front of him. I imagine it would have to be large to cover a man as large as Goliath. Goliath felt confident his size and his armor would protect him. Yet he was killed by a stone landing just in the right spot of his forehead. Goliath’s armor reminds me of people who put their trust in things. Things, like money. Even all the money in the world cannot save us.

Saul’s Armor

Saul was king at the time of this incident. He had become ineffective when he disobeyed God and God said Saul would be replaced by another as king. Saul still won some of Israel’s battles but when the Philistines opposed Israel and sent out Goliath as champion he and the whole country quaked in fear. Not David though, he went to King Saul and said he would kill this giant. Saul finally agreed after David described battles with large wild animals while tending his father’s flock of sheep. Saul was not trusting in God to save Israel, so Saul had David put on Saul’s armor. Now David was still a young man at the time. Historians say David was on the shorter side. Saul was taller. Saul had David put on his tunic, coat of arms, bronze helmet, and sword. In my imagination I see David felt weighed down in Saul’s armor when he was trying to walk around. I imagine David trying his hardest to get used to the heavy armor. Trying to please Saul, the king. Then I imagine David realizing he did not need to be burden by heavy armor he had the armor of God. Saul’s armor reminds me of those who are burden down trying to be good enough. Trying to please our parents, teachers and bosses and even trying to please God without having the freedom of God’s armor He has to offer each of us through faith in God’s Son Jesus.

David’s Armor

In chapter sixteen we read about Samuel anointing David as king of Israel. I Samuel 16:13 says “And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on.” David’s armor was the Spirit of the Lord upon him. He did not need a helmet, coat of arms or even a shield he had the Spirit of the Lord. He was free of the armor of trusting things or trying to be good enough, he was free to trust the Lord to save him. When I think of this, I think of another place in the Bible which talks about armor. Ephesian 6:14-17 talks about the armor of God. I believe David was wearing this armor when he faced Goliath. Let us look at the different components of the armor of God I imagine David was wearing that day. The following verses are from Ephesian 6:14-17 and are from the New Living Translation. “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Belt of truth: David believed the truth about God when God said He would deliver Israel from their enemies if Israel was trusting God. Goliath and Saul were not trusting God to deliver them, and both were killed in battle. (It was years later for Saul.)

Body armor of God’s righteousness: notice it says God’s righteousness not David’s or our own. We could go to church every day, pray without stopping, give all our money to the poor, and do good constantly and still not be righteous enough to be saved. Only God is righteous. Do not lose heart though, God sent His Son, Jesus to die on the cross and take all our unrighteousness on Him in our place so we can have God’s righteousness for our own by accepting Jesus. David knew God would send a Savior into the world. David looked forward to that time and had faith. David’s faith gave him God’s righteousness.

Shoes of peace which comes from the Good News: The Good News is God saves us through faith in His Son Jesus. Knowing the Good News gives us peace. It is not the same peace the world thinks of but the inner peace knowing we can trust God in everything. I imagine David stepped onto the battlefield with the shoes of peace God had given him because he trusted God.

Shield of faith: to stop the fiery darts of the devil. These fiery darts can be thoughts of doubt, anxiety, or depression. It also could be thoughts of low self esteem or even those 3am thoughts seeping into your mind of something you should have done in the past. Fiery darts could also be spreading gossip or outright lies to cause division. They are also hating someone because they are different than you are. None of these are from God. God wants you to remember your faith in Him and put up the shield of faith to stop the fiery darts. Perhaps David’s fiery darts came when he put on Saul’s armor before realizing he did not need it because God was his shield.

Helmet of salvation: salvation comes from trusting in God’s Son Jesus to save you. You must trust Him with your mind, soul, and spirit. All of these are in your head and is covered by the helmet of salvation. David knew he had the figurative helmet of salvation on his head because he was trusting in God.

Sword of the Spirit: which is also known as the Word of God. The Bible is the Word of God, but it is just a book until you read it, mediate on it, memorize it, and believe it is true. Then the Spirit comes in and fights your battles for you. The sword of the Lord divides the truth from the untruth in our lives if we are listening to what the Spirit if telling us through His Word.

David had the Spirit of the Lord upon him. He was not afraid of Goliath, and he understood he did not need Saul’s armor of good works to save him. He just had to trust God’s armor. What armor are you trusting in?

For further study on David and Goliath check out these selections from Christianbook.com Home. If you click on a link and make a purchase I may earn a small percentage of that purchase without any additional cost to you. The earnings go directly to the costs of the website. Thank you for your support.

Slay Your Giants: Life Lessons from the Story of David and Goliath – eBook
By Nell Mohney / Dimensions for Living

David & Goliath
By Jacqueline Jeannette Pfister / Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

David & Goliath/ Realities of Life Today and the Christian Response
By Dennis Hayes / Xulon Press

This morning I was reading Genesis chapter three and doing a study of the first ten verses. The study brought up more questions than answers but then I noticed something. The Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Adam and Eve heard the sound of God walking in the garden. Unfortunately, they had already eaten the fruit God had told them not to, so they tried to hide. No doubt God knew where they were and why they were hiding but He still went walking in the garden where they were. One of my questions was this something God was in the habit of doing before Adam and Eve sinned? Oh, what sweet fellowship that must have been! I cannot imagine what that would be like since we now live in this world of sin, brokenness, and pain.

Yet, there are examples in the Bible of sweet fellowship with God. Abraham was one of the first to record sweet fellowship with God. The Bible records long conversations between the two of them. It is all because Abraham obeyed God’s commands. This is true in every situation in the Bible. Let us look at other examples of sweet fellowship with God.

Joseph, Abraham’s great grandson, was a boastful boy. His brothers hated him, so they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. Joseph went through trails in his life but in the end, he became a great leader. I wonder if it was during those years Joseph was in prison, after being falsely accused, he became changed because he had sweet fellowship with God during those dark days of his life.

Moses is another one who experienced sweet fellowship with God. One time the Lord told Moses to go to the top of Mount Sinai to meet with Him. There the Lord gave Moses the Ten Commandments. Exodus 34:29 says when Moses came down from the mountain his face was radiant from being with the Lord. Have you ever seen someone just coming from prayer time or from studying the Bible have a special glow about them? It is because they just came from sweet fellowship with God.

The Psalms is full of King David’s praise and pleadings to the Lord. David was a great king in Israel, but he had trials before he was crowned king. The king before David did not follow God’s commands and became ineffective as a leader. God chose David to succeed Saul and Saul knew it. King Saul decided to kill David forcing David to go into hiding. You will find in the Psalms  examples where David cried out to God for help to save him from his enemies. I wonder if while David was hiding, he experienced sweet fellowship with the Lord?

Elijah was another of ones who experienced sweet fellowship with God. He was hated by the king because the king was going against God commands and setting up idol worship for the people to worship instead of the one true God. Elijah called the king out for it. The king’s wife, Jezebel, heard of it, became enraged at Elijah, and wanted Elijah dead. Elijah found himself on a mountain top talking to God. It was there God showed Himself to Elijah in a quiet whisper. God often tells us “Be still and know I am God.”

Finally, we come to Jesus himself. I recently read “Lord, Teach Us to Pray” by Sunday U. Bwanhot. I got the book from my church, but I am not sure it is available to the public yet. In the book Reverend Bwanhot describes Jesus’ prayer life. Reverend Bwanhot explains how Jesus was in constant face to face communion with God the Father, Jesus’ Father from before the beginning of time.

Reverend Bwanhot explains Jesus often went off by himself to pray. Often Jesus would go without sleep just to spend time with his Father. John chapter 17 gives us a glimpse of one of Jesus’ prayers. Jesus prays God’s glory be seen in him. He knew he would be going to the cross to die for us and Jesus knew his death and resurrection would glorify the God the Father. Jesus was obedient to his Father even though he suffered for our sins. It was on the cross when Jesus took the sins of the world upon himself when the sweet fellowship was broken. After Jesus died, the penalty for sin, the sweet fellowship was restored from now on.

We as humans can have this sweet fellowship with God. We do not have to be any of these before mentioned men. How you ask?

First, you must believe God loves you and He sent His son, Jesus, to die on the cross for your sins. You also must recognize your sin. Sin is going your own way and not following God’s commandments. None of us can say we are perfect therefore we have sin. Once you believe you must accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Salvation is not something you can work for because one must be perfect to be saved but Jesus’ death and resurrection made salvation possible, and it is a gift to you. Just accept it.

Then spend time each day reading the Bible. Meditate on a verse or two. Let God guide you in what you are reading. The Bible is God’s Words to us. Then pray. Be sure to give God praise for even the trivial things in life. Give Him thanks! Confess any wrongdoing. Pray for others and yourself. It is that simple. The book “Lord, Teach Us to Pray” is a wonderful guide in having sweet fellowship with the Lord. It helped to change my life, but the change came when I really started listening to God through His Word and praying with a humble heart. Ah, sweet fellowship!

You can inquire about getting a copy of the book by emailing the author: bwanhot@gmail.com

Reverend Bwanhot was at my church to speak on January 9, 2022. Here is a link to my church where you can find the Live Stream link to You Tube to listen to him speak. bethanyschofield.org/home

Below I listed three books by the same title for your further study. These books come from Christianbook. I am an affiliate of Christianbook. If you use these links and make a purchase I may receive a small percentage of your purchase at no extra cost to you. This helps with the costs of running the website only.

Christianbook.com Home

Lord, Teach Us To Pray
By Dr. D. James Kennedy / Truth in Action

Lord, Teach Us to Pray
By Walter E. Patt, Jr. / Xulon Press

Lord, Teach Us to Pray: Study on Prayer
By Shirley Andrews / Christian Focus

In Lord, Teach Us to Pray, a Geared for Growth 12-session Bible study, you will come to understand prayer and learn how to explain it to others. The study aims to give participants a working, practical knowledge of prayer. Each session’s study includes daily Bible readings and questions followed by a one-page Notes section that expounds upon the week’s reading. The answers to the questions can be found at the back of the study guide.

Psalm 145

I was reading from Psalm 145, from the Bible, this morning and the idea came to mind to write a devotional on what God does according to verses found in Psalm 145. Then I went through the chapter and wrote down the key works or phrases of what God does. There are at least eleven of them which I found but you may find more. I took these actions from the New Living Translation.

The first three verses are praises for God’s mighty works so I will start with verse four.

1. Mighty Acts (verse 4). Throughout the entire Bible are stories of might acts of God. The most might is when Jesus, God in human form, went willingly to the cross. Why is this the most mighty you ask? It all started when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and brought sin into a perfect world. This ruined mankind’s relationship with God. God wanted to restore this relationship, so He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for all of us. But Jesus did not stay dead. He rose again on the third day and now lives with God the Father. You can have this restored relationship with God by just asking Him, no strings attached. (Read Ephesians 2:8-9)
2. Powerful (verse 4). Even more powerful than all the superheroes combined. Throughout the Bible you will find God’s powerful acts. One was when He rescued the Jewish slaves from Egypt. First there were ten powerful plagues on the Egyptian people because they would not let the Jews go. Later, after they left Egypt the came to the Red Sea. This sea is a large body of water and God caused it to divide so thousands of Jews crossed over on dry land to the other side. Yet when the Egyptians started to cross the water came together again and caused the Egyptian army to drown. This is just one example of God’s power.
3. Wonderful Miracles (verse 5). When David (the king of Israel at the time) wrote of God’s wonderful miracles I am sure he was thinking of times God saved the Jewish nation and miracles in David’s own life. Yet, my mind thinks of the miracles of Jesus, God in human form, did. One of my favorites is a short story of a woman who had a bleeding problem for twelve years. She just touched Jesus’ hem of his clothes and she was instantly healed. You can read her story in Matthew 9, Mark 5, and Luke 8.
4. Awe-inspiring Deeds (verse 6). The awe-inspiring deed which came to mind is when Jesus was asleep in a boat and a huge storm came up. The disciples with Him were doing all they could to keep the boat from sinking. They woke Jesus up. I imagine some were thinking “how can He sleep in such a storm?” They asked him do you not care we are about to perish? All Jesus said was “Peace, be still!” and the storm stopped immediately. Talk about awe-inspiring.
5. Wonderful Goodness (verse 7). A personal story of God’s wonderful goodness is my knee surgery. I work for Walmart. Walmart has a program to keep their employees working by providing certain surgeries at no cost to the employee if you go to the hospital of the program’s choice. The program for total knee replacement sends you to the location of the hospital for two weeks. You stay in a hotel the whole time and you need to provide a caregiver. Everything is paid for including airfare, hotel, transportation, and food allowance for both the employee and the caregiver. I heard about the program from a coworker in July. I looked it up and applied. It took a couple of months and a ton of paperwork, but I was accepted into the program. I had two different caregivers back out on me before my niece volunteered to go. She is married and has three children, but she did an excellent job caring for me. The program sent me to Missouri for my surgery. Everything went well and everyone was nice and helpful. The I saw the goodness of God the entire time I was gone and since I returned to recover and is still good. To me the whole thing is nothing short of a miracle of God’s Goodness.
6. Merciful (verse 8). When Jesus was dying on the cross, he had two thieves hanging there with him. The soldiers around the cross were mocking and insulting Him. One of the thieves dying on the cross beside Jesus also mocking Jesus. But the other one said to the other thief “Don’t you fear God when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said to Jesus “remember me when you come into your kingdom” and Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” The thief had sense enough to realize Jesus was God and His dying on the cross was not the end of Jesus. He realized Jesus would be king. He also knew he was a sinner and needed Jesus to be merciful to him.
7. Compassionate (verse 8). Throughout the Old Testament and the life of Jesus we see God being compassionate. There were times in the book of Judges where the Israelites would turn their backs on God and God would allow them to suffer hardship for a time. They would usually repent of their sin and cry out to God to save them. Then God would have compassion on them and send a judge to deliver them from their hardship. Deborah is one of my favorites from the book of Judges.
8. Slow to Anger (verse 8). I have been a Christian my whole life yet there were times I did not act like one. Sometimes I would not attend church for months on end and not paid any attention to my Heavenly Father who just wanted a relationship with me. He could have given me up to go my own way. He could have become angry at my neglect of Him, but He did not. He waited patiently for me to return to Him. Have you ever felt like this?
9. Unfailing love (verse 8). This phrase reminds me of I Corinthians 13, the love chapter. Verse eight simple says, “Love never fails.” Yet, we as humans often fail the ones, we love the most. Yet God’s love for us is perfect, it can never fail no matter what we do or say. God’s unfailing love is trustworthy. Jesus dying on the cross for us is the perfect example of the unfailing love. Jesus did no wrong and He never failed anyone, yet He took all our failings Himself when He died.
10. Always keeps His Promises (verse 13b). From God’s promise to Noah, He would never flood the entire world again to Jesus’ promise He is coming back someday, God has every time keep His promises. I realize Jesus has not come back yet but reading all the stories in the Bible I can see promise after promise God has kept. Never once did God go back on His word and not kept a promise. Therefore, I can trust Jesus when He said He would be back. Are you ready for Jesus’ return?
11. Gracious in all God does (verse 13b). Oh, the gifts God bestows on us who genuinely love and serve Him. The most precious gift is the gift of Salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift of God.” When we believe Jesus died and rose again, confessing our sins, He forgives us and gives us salvation. In the following verses lists gifts God graciously gives us. They are helps the fallen, lifts burdens, gives hope, provides our daily needs, grants desires (if they are in accordance with His will), hears our cries for help, rescues us, and protects from harm. There are other gifts God graciously gives us. Finally, the gift of salvation includes Heaven where we will have the restored relationship with God. We will no longer have pain, illness or sorrow our bodies will be restored to perfection, and we will live in peace.

I go back to the first three verses of praise for what God does. Everything I listed is something we can praise God for because of all He has done for us and who He is. Lately I have been studying prayer. One way to structure prayer is using A-adoration (or paise), C-confession, T-thanksgiving, and S-supplication (praying for our needs and the needs of others). Start your prayer with praise for all God does. It will make your prayer more meaningful. For me, I find it humbling to praise God for all He does because I do not deserve any of it. Yet because of God’s great love I do!

Psalm 37: 3-7a (NLT)

3Trust in the Lord and do good.

Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.

4Take delight in the Lord,

and he will give you your heart’s desires.

5Commit everything you do to the Lord.

Trust him, and he will help you.

6He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,

and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

7Be still in the presence of the Lord,

and wait patiently for him to act.

As I was reading this passage the other day, I could not help to notice it was full of actions we should take. There is deeper meaning to each action than what it appears through the first reading. I am going to break it down phrase by phrase.

Trust

Trust in the Lord. Not your church, career or job, your spouse or anyone. Trust in the Lord. Trust is the action of putting your faith in someone or something. This passage says God wants you to trust in Him alone. He is the giver of life, and He is in control of all things. God knows everything about you and if you put your trust in Him, He guide you through life. It is not saying you will not have problems or have dreadful things happen, but if you trust in God, He will be with you through those troubled times. Romans 8:28And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Trust is also not worrying about things. I read somewhere recently worry is an insult to God. I struggle with this a great deal. Thankful God forgives me.

Do Good

This action is other-focused. Yes, we should behave ourselves, but this verse is saying “do good to others.” This makes sense when you read the rest of the verse. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. If you are doing good to others, they are less likely to harm you and more likely want to be your friend.

Take Delight

Have joy in your heart the Lord is with you and knows your needs. Also, be delightful. Other people would rather be around someone who is happy than someone who is complaining. I struggle with this sometimes when I do not feel well, or my chronic pain is acting up. (See my post on https://northwoodsgirlblogging.com/do-not-let-things-rob-your-joy/ )

Commit Everything

Give everything to the Lord even if you think it is too small to matter. Pray about things on your heart. I write in a prayer journal every morning. It is my letters to God. I have been doing this for years. I commit my day to the Lord each morning. It gives me peace knowing God has my back even in the worst of days.

Trust Him

It must be important to trust God since He wrote it twice in this passage. Trust Him and He will help you. Even in your darkest hour you can trust God. The other day at church a guy asked me if I ever thought “What if…” I said no, I know I can trust God. Yet this morning I thought the “what if” about a problem I am having and had to stop myself. God knows our needs and our sufferings we can trust Him to help us.

Be Still

This is the hardest action of all. At least for me. Often, I find my mind distracted, especially when I am tired or have stressful things going on. I know this is true for everyone. Yet in Psalms 46:10 (NLT) “Be still, and know that I am God!” and other passages say to be still. One way to do this is to mediate on God’s Word. I find writing out my thoughts on a certain Bible passage helps me focus. Often, I write in my prayer journal a verse or two to think about. I think, with things, the more you do it the easier it becomes. I am a work in progress on the “be still” part of this passage.

There are other actions in this passage, but these stand out as important to me. Please study the passage yourself to find the actions God wants you to take in your life. They may be different than mine. Just trust, do good, take delight, commit, and be still.

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Take the Lid Off: Trust God, Release the Pressure, and Find the Life He Wants for You
By Smokie Norful / Thomas Nelson

Pastor and Grammy-winning musician Smokie Norful inspires readers to go to God and experience more fulfillment, delight, power, and success than they ever dreamed.

According to Smokie Norful, sometimes our lives feel like a pot of rice in his grandmother’s kitchen: hissing, boiling over, about to explode and create panic. The only way to avoid an explosion is to take the lid off-that is, to stop being trapped inside ourselves and instead look to God and his grace to make us all he intends us to be. Taking the lid off, Norful argues, entails four actions: look inward, experiencing the cleansing of forgiveness and the power of the Holy Spirit; look outward, seeking for others to experience the joy of living for God and have the best God has to offer; look upward and marvel at God’s love and strength to accomplish his purposes; and move onward, devising a strategy to accomplish all God has put in our hearts to do.

When we take these four steps, the pressure goes down, we gain peace and perception, and things work out much better in the end. When we finally take the lid off, we can become the people God has created us to be and do what we were intended to do. We get in touch with the unlimited power of his Spirit, we’re directed by the challenge of his purposes, and we experience the joy of seeing him use us to change lives. All of us need help in taking the lid off in order to trust God, take action, and reach our full potential.

Trust Without Borders: A Study of Psalm 37
By Pamela J. Alexander / WestBow Press

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Revelation 2:17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

When I first read this passage, I had no idea what the meaning of the white stone-new name meant so I did some research. Here is what I found.

Matthew Henry writes:  The white stone, with a new name engraven upon it. This white stone is absolution from the guilt of sin, alluding to the ancient custom of giving a white stone to those acquitted on trial and a black stone to those condemned. The new name is the name of adoption: adopted persons took the name of the family into which they were adopted. None can read the evidence of a man’s adoption but himself; he cannot always read it, but if he persevere he shall have both the evidence of sonship and the inheritance. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary)

Zondervan Bible Commentary thinks it may be an inscribed pebble which is like a ticket to gain entrance to the heavenly banquet. The new name is known only to the one who receives it. See verses 3:12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. Zondervan believes the new name is Christ’s and they reference 22:4 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

Expositor’s Bible Commentary also thinks the white stone may be an entrance to the heavenly banquet. It was a custom at the time to use an engraved stone as a ticket to a banquet. They also write the new name is a changed character because of redemption. (Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament)

NIV Application Commentary references the white stone “symbolize eternal life or purity from sin. The commentary goes on to note a changed name is associated with a promise. I think of Abram to Abraham and Jacob to Israel. It also references Isiah 56:5 and 62:2 which promises a new name and the removable of shame. Yet in the Revelation context it could be a hidden name of God and the Lamb (see 3:12; 14:1; 19:12-13).

Therefore, I conclude: the white stone represents purity which is needed to enter Heaven. No one can be completely pure enough to get to Heaven no matter what good works they do in their lives. However, John 3:16 states: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God’s Son is Jesus, the Lamb talked about in Revelations. Jesus came to this earth to die for us and rose again so we could forever live with Him in Heaven.

The new name represents our new life in Christ. In the time of the book of Acts the name “Christian” was given to those believing in Christ. The “ian” part of the word Christian means “one of” so putting it together the word Christian means one of Christ’s or belonging to Christ.

We do not know what our new name may be or if the white stone is a symbol or an actual stone. We need to wait until we get to Heave to find out. However, the new name is given and the one who receives it will know their new name. Do you know your new name?